Hard Love
by kazumigirl
Summary: Post ROTF. The Autobots are allowed to remain on Earth under one condition-all civillains memories must be erased, including Sam's. Bee struggles to continue to be the boy's guardian, but things only grow more complicated when Megatron returns for the boy
1. Chapter 1

_**Hard Love**_

**Author's note: I've been meaning to do a Transformers fic for a while now, so here it is. Please read and review por favor. **

Humans were so fickle. So untrusting. So scared. Not all of them, Optimus reminded himself as he stared over the miles of trees. Captain Lennox, the soldiers of NEST, Mikaela, Sam…some humans were different, and he was sure that there were more, but the majority of them…so incredibly _scared_.

It was fear, the Autobots decided, that led the United States government to their decision. The Autobots could remain on Earth, fighting along side human soldiers incase the Decepticons were to return, but only under one condition. One condition the Autobots did not rejoice over. Any civilians who knew of the alien visitors had to have their memories erased. Of course, the idea sounded ridiculous at first. There was no such technology to erasing memory. No human technology, anyway. When the Secretary of Defense told the Autobots to do it, that's when they realized they weren't kidding around.

Optimus sighed as he turned his head back to glance at the college town. The town where Sam had been living a normal life for nearly six months now. Six months since the Fallen had arrived on Earth and tried to destroy the sun. Bumblebee now resided with Sam, and loved it. He had always been the bubbly, fun-loving Autobot, despite being a soldier, and with Sam, he was acted like some love-sick puppy. Optimus never counted on the silly soldier getting so attached to someone that was intended to be a mission and nothing more. Who was he to judge, though? He adored Earth as well. Sure, the human race was primitive, and they didn't handle situations as well as other species he'd encountered, but they were compassionate. Many of them, he'd come to know, were selfless, and that was a rare trait in any being.

---

"Okay, okay," Sam said, waving his arm around and tapping his fingers against his laptop. "How does this sound? 'Astrology has not only guided the world to certain beliefs and religion, but the idea that we might not be alone in the universe as well' ". He looked up at the large robot for approval, his eyebrows raised.

Bumblebee nodded and the _X-Files_ theme song began to play from his voice receptors. Sam rolled his eyes and let his head fall back. "My essay's due in two days, Bee! If that doesn't sound good, then I don't know what to do!" Staring back up at the sky, his eyes followed a shooting star and he smiled. "Did you see that? I've never seen a shooting star before. Maybe astrology's actually on my side."

He suddenly lost his footing and scrambled back to his feet, turning around. It was Optimus. Sam sighed, relieved, and said, "You really need to make a less startling appearance. And land _in front_ of me."

"I'm sorry," Optimus apologized. "It's growing dark, Sam. What are you doing out so late?"

"I'm nineteen," Sam replied, his eyebrows furrowed and his smile stiff. It always bothered him how the Autobots treated him like a little kid. Didn't saving the world twice boost a sense of maturity just a little bit?

"I know," Optimus replied. "I was concerned about you having to wake up early. Your classes start early, don't they?"

"Yah, I guess." Sam shrugged, lost for a comeback. His classes started at eight, and he usually woke up to Bee calling him. He still didn't understand how the sneaky robot had hacked into his phone to play Tiny Tim every morning. Sam could even turn his phone off and it would still ring.

He picked up his laptop and backpack and stared back up at the sky one last time. "Ready Bee?"

The voice of Spongebob came from the yellow robot. "I'm not just ready. I'm ready Freddy." With that, he morphed into his secret-identity, the camaro that all of the male students envied, and started playing music from the radio.

"Sleep well, Sam," Optimus said, nodding his head. "Good luck on your assignment."

"Thanks!" The human waved to him as he got in the car. "Aw, Bee! Not Michael Jackson again! Can't we listen to something else?" The station changed and Sam groaned even louder. Bee had started blasting Spanish rap music.

Optimus watched them leave and when the camaro got too far away to see anymore, the Autobot leader lowered his head and shook it slowly. "It has been an honor, Sam Witwicky."

---

"You look great tonight," Sam said, collapsing on his bed with his laptop. He pretended to sniff the screen. "And what's that you're wearing?"

Mikaela laughed from the other side of the country. "A new perfume. Got it from Target. Sunflower…something…you like it?"

"Smells great," Sam replied. "So when do you think you'll be able to move up here?"

"You ask that every night," Mikaela pursed her lips, but her smile broke through anyway. "I told you, my Dad's brother is coming down in one month and then I'm free. No more caretaker for a reformed criminal." She sighed. "So how's Bee?"

"He's great," Sam said. "Still upset over MJ's death, though." He rolled his eyes. "He doesn't even know who Michael Jackson is. He just knows he loves _Thriller_."

"He has good taste," Mikaela giggled. "I'm so jealous of him, though. He gets to spend so much more time with you than I do."

"Oh, don't feel so left out," Sam teased. "I mean, the sex is great and all, but he can't cuddle like you."

"Shut up!" Mikaela laughed. "Anyway, tell Bee I miss him too. Can't wait to see him. I'll jam to Michael Jackson with him. We'll have a party."

"You do know that I'm not going to pass that message onto him," Sam shifted on his bed. "I don't want him stealing my girlfriend."

"Well I don't want him stealing my boyfriend," Mikaela teased back. "Anyway, I have to go. Dad needs the computer to check on some social security stuff. Good luck on your essay."

Sam groaned. "Please don't remind me of the essay," he muttered, still smiling. "Okay. G'night. Tell your dad I said hey."

They signed off and Sam closed his laptop. He didn't know why the essay was bothering him so much. He'd gotten most of it finished, after all. Just something didn't seem right about his research. About the words he'd written to describe astrology. After his encounter with the Transformers, nothing about space, or even life in general, seemed the same.

---

"I'm sorry, Bumblee." Optimus looked away after he told the smallest Autobot what had to be done. "If it will help, I will do it for you."

Bumblebee raised his hand to stop him, and stared out into space. The stars were beautiful. Of course, he had never given one thought to stars before he arrived here on Earth. After all, stars were just balls of plasma-nothing special, he thought. Things changed after he and Sam used to go to the edge of town, near the lake where the stars blanketed the sky. They would sit and stare at them, and Sam would talk about anything and everything imaginable. That was the magic of the plasma balls. They were so mysterious to humans that they made them open up. They softened them. They made them happy, and Bumblebee loved it when Sam was happy. So even though the stars meant nothing to him, he listened to Sam talk about his childhood- staring at them through a telescope, seeing them in a totally different way than he did.

"So you wish to do this yourself?" Optimus seemed to understand.

Bumblebee nodded. He wouldn't do it tonight. He would wait until the following evening. He wanted just a little more time with his best friend. His boy.

---

"Bee, where are we going?" Sam asked, staring out the window. He didn't mean to sound so cranky, but he had used most of his afternoon and evening to finish up his essay. "We've been driving forever."

"You'll see," a random voice on the radio replied and Sam rolled his eyes. He drummed his fingers against the door and said, "I'm really tired, Man. I have a ton of homework left to do, okay?"

Bumblebee slowed to a stop and the door opened. He jerked slightly so Sam rolled out of the car. The boy stood up, dusting the seat of his jeans off and looked around. "The cliffs?" He looked up at the car, which had transformed into a robot. "What? Are you going to push me off because I didn't want to go out earlier?"

Bumblebee sat down, causing the ground to shake slightly, and Sam stumbled. He stared over to the cliff's edge, and then walked over to the robot, his hands jammed into the pockets of his back jeans. "Something wrong, Bee?" He asked, his voice growing quiet.

A song started to play from the robot. A song Sam didn't recognize, and he wasn't sure if he'd even heard it before or not. The lyrics started off talking about growing up, and Bumblebee lowered his hand, his blue eyes glowing. Sam walked over and was a bit surprised when the robot scooped him up and lifted him onto his drawn-up knees.

_And I recall the gentle courtesy you gave me as I tried  
To dissemble in politeness all the love I felt inside  
And for every song of laughter was another song that cried  
This ain't no easy weekend, this is hard love_

Sam didn't say anything. He just listened to the music coming from his alien friend. Beneath him, the robot was warm, and he didn't seem like a machine in any way.

_It was hard love, every step of the way  
Hard to be so close to you, so hard to turn away  
And when all the stars and sentimental songs dissolved to day  
There was nothing left to sing about but hard love_

Sam jumped a little again when he felt Bumblebee's hand slide under him once more and move him closer to his chest. Closer to his spark, his system that mirrored a human heart. It hummed loudly, and warmly.

_So I loved you for your courage, and your gentle sense of shame  
And I loved you for your laughter and your language and your name  
And I knew it was impossible, but I loved you just the same  
Though' the only love I gave to you was hard love_

Bumblebee raised one of his fingers, and Sam turned to look up and at his face. He placed his whole hand to the finger, and he felt his heart pounding and his hands starting to sweat. He knew something was up, something wrong.

_So I'm standing in this phone booth with a dollar and a dime  
Wondering what to say to you to ease your troubled mind  
For the Lord's cross might redeem us, but our own just wastes our time  
And to tell the two apart is always hard, love_

The finger moved from Sam's hand to his face, gingerly brushing against the boy's sweaty forehead. Sam tried to pull away, but Bumblebee held him closer with the other hand, the finger becoming warmer.

"Bee?" Sam grunted quietly. "What are you…?"

_So I'll tell you that I love you even though I'm far away  
And I'll tell you how you change me as I live from day to day  
How you help me to accept myself and I won't forget to say  
Love is never wasted, even when it's hard love_

He suddenly felt heavy, sleepy almost, and he suddenly saw images flashing through his head. The beat up Camaro, driving Mikaela home, his car standing up, meeting Bumblebee in his alien form, coaxing Mikaela to get in the car, Sector Seven taking Bumblebee…

_Yes, it's hard love, but it's love all the same  
Not the stuff of fantasy, but more than just a game  
And the only kind of miracle that's worthy of the name  
For the love that heals our lives is mostly hard love_

Bumblebee felt his eyes welling up with fluid as he ran his entire free hand over the boy's face, and then the human's confused expression became blank and he blinked slowly, finally closing his eyes and collapsing forward, completely unconscious.

The End?

Absolutely NOT!


	2. Satellite

**Satellite**

**Author's note:** Wow. I have to say I was not expecting a lot of feedback from the first chapter. I guess since I did, I will continue it. Hope you enjoy! Reviews much appreciated!

"I must say I was expecting a lot more from your essay," the professor told Sam, pushing his glasses up to his nose. "You seemed to have such a passion for space and the connections between stars and planets and life…" he shook his head slightly and threw his arms up slightly. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Sam admitted truthfully. He wasn't sure where the professor had gotten the idea that he was in love with astrology, but he didn't argue. He had no recollection of mooning over stars and space, but lately things had seemed hazy…_empty_. It was almost like he had woke up as somebody else. For starters, he couldn't remember how he and Mikaela began dating. He knew she was his girlfriend. He knew they were close, but he couldn't remember _how_ or _why_. He also couldn't seem to figure out why he had an old shirt from his junior year of high school lying around on the floor of his dorm. It looked like it had had a bad day in the washer, yet his roommate Leo told him he wore it all the time.

---

"I know what you mean," Mikaela said that night as they talked online. "It's like something is missing. I just woke up and felt like I forgot to do something…you know that feeling? That hard-to-explain worry?" She sighed and pursed her lips, squinting her eyes and she stared into space. "I just don't know."

"Me neither," Sam sighed. "I mean, one of my professors looked like it was the best morning of his life when I turned in my essay then chewed me out later because I apparently lost my _passion_ for space. Since when have I liked space?"

Mikaela chuckled. "Maybe we're just losing our minds." She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind her. "Anyway, I have to go. I promised my mom I would have breakfast with her, so I have to get up early."

"Your mom?" Sam raised his eyebrows. Something missing or not, he knew for a fact he had never heard of Mikaela's mom.

"Yah, she came back around a few weeks ago…" Mikaela admitted sheepishly. "She's been running around for a couple of years, but my dad says even though he doesn't expect a miracle to happen, we should try and get along with her." She sighed in frustration. "When my parents divorced, she told her lawyers she didn't want to have to deal with us, but now we're suddenly family again."

"Huh." Sam didn't know what to say. His parents fought now and then, but he could not imagine them not wanting to see the other one and himself, let alone divorcing. "Well, have a good night, and a good morning." He sloppily kissed the screen. "Good night."

Mikaela kissed back. " 'night." The screen went black and Sam stared at the screen, not really paying attention to what was there. He looked up when Leo busted in with a few of his geeky pals (not that Sam could complain-he wasn't exactly busting with popularity).

"Dude! We have to go down to the lake!" Leo panted, nearly out of breath.

"Why?" Sam's brows furrowed.

"There's a sorority party going on and the chicks are night swimming!" One of Leo's friends grinned goofily. When nothing registered on Sam's face, he raised his eyebrows. "Dude, skinny dipping."

"I have a girlfriend," Sam told him.

"She is pretty hot," Leo piped up. "Come on, Witwicky. She won't mind."

"I'll go," Sam said, glad to have a reason to get out of the stuffy dorm and into some fresh air. "But I'm not ogling any naked mermaids, okay? I'm just gonna walk around or something."

The walk to the lake was a short one, and the entire time, Leo and his friends goofed off. Sam stared up at the sky as they walked. The stars glittered against the black and purple sky and seemed to bob up and down as they moved up and down the bumpy trail. Maybe something really had been inside him that made him passionate about stars. He loved the way the way they clustered together, and for a moment, he had a quick image come into his mind. Something yellow. A yellow car? He blinked several times and rubbed at his eyes.

"Dude! Dude!" Leo motioned for them to stop. "I totally hear them!" He started drooling. "Oh my god…" He turned to Sam. "You sure you don't wanna just look?"

"Positive," Sam turned to walk another direction. "You guys look at all the wet boobs you want."

"We will," Leo grinned.

Sam continued on by himself, following the stars in the sky. He made his way to a clearing, surrounded by trees and noticed a patch where grass and dirt had been scraped up. He stared at it, and then looked around. Several trees were bent or knocked down as well. He turned in a circle, hearing a distant sound. It sounded like a plane in the sky, but as he stopped, he heard it growing closer and closer. He lost his footing as a large, needle-nosed jet crashed down in the plot, several feet away, and he moved his head slowly, waiting to see if anybody emerged.

He could have peed his pants when the jet suddenly dissembled, and remerged into a towering monster. It stood several feet above him, and he suddenly had the same feeling a little kid has when they have a bad dream or hear a noise in the dark or see a shadow after a scary movie. He took off running immediately, nearly tripping in the process, and the monster ripped out it's arm, scooping him off of the ground. "You're not getting away this time, Boy," it growled.

Sam screamed and struggled against it, not even bothering to ask what it was talking about. The monster hissed, "You're full of surprises. Full of things my master wants, and he know just how to take control of this worthless planet."

Another sound startled them both and Sam looked around and finally down at the ground to see a yellow car-a camaro, swirving in their direction. It also morphed into a monster, and fired a blast at the other one. The other one dropped Sam, and before he could hit the ground, the yellow monster tucked and rolled, sliding into the dirt as he caught him. Sam stared up at it, and once his eyes met its two glowing orbs, he had de ja vu like never before, and for a split second, he felt…_safe_. The monster set him down, a few feet away, and continued to fight the other one. Sam watched for a little while, and then took off running. He didn't make it too far before he fell to his knees, gasping for air, and swallowing hard. He could still hear the two creatures in the distance, but just as he started to catch his breath, he heard a strange noise. He stood up and screamed again when he saw a yellow car coming towards him in the distance.

"Oh, God! No!" He screamed, willing his aching legs to run again. "Please no!"

The car moved behind him as he ran, and eventually moved in front of him, blocking his path. Sam pulled at his hair and shook his head. He was scared out of his mind, dripping sweat, and now about to be kidnapped by a demon car. Satan's camaro…

The windows rolled down and Sam's brows furrowed as the radio inside played loudly. The driver side door open. Sam made no effort to move towards the car and it revved its engine a little. When Sam still didn't move, it honked loudly. He climbed in, his face filled with worry and fear and the door shut behind him. Lyrics began to play along with the music that was playing.

_Shining like a work of art_

_Hanging on a wall of stars_

_Are you what I think you are?_

He couldn't believe what was happening. He felt his muscles starting to loosen up and he watched as the AC knob turned by itself, as well as the vents, moving towards his sticky, hot face. The seats even seemed to warm up.

_You're my satellite _

_You're riding with me tonight_

_Passenger side_

_Lighting the sky_

_Always the first star that I find_

The car stopped after a while and Sam realized it had taken him back to his dorm building. He looked around and gingerly began to place his hand on the door handle. It opened by itself and Sam gulped. He stepped out, unsure of what to say or do, and wondering if he really was going crazy. Not remembering was one thing, but being rescued by a robot car and then returned safely…? Maybe he was honestly just losing his mind. He had barely climbed out of the car when it sped away, leaving tire tracks in the grass. It was still playing the song, and Sam watched and listened until it faded out of sight.

"Cool car," Leo commented as he and friends returned, soaking wet. "Whose is it?"

"I'm not sure," Sam mumbled, still staring in the direction it had sped away in.

---

"Megatron has returned," Optimus sighed when Bumblebee gave him the news. "There's no telling what he wants from Sam this time."

"Perhaps Sam has something encoded in his mind that we do not know about," Ratchet suggested.

Optimus stared up at the sky. "It will be difficult, but we must protect him once more." He turned to Bumblebee. "What do you make of all of this?"

Bumblebee shrugged and mimed fighting an enemy and cradling something in his hand. The other autobots exchanged wary looks. They knew it was necessary to protect Sam, and nobody did a better job than Bumblebee. The problem would be protecting him _and _not revealing their secrets. Optimus stood tall and said, "We will do what we have to do."

To Be Continued…

**Author's second note:** I hope you enjoyed. Third chapter will be up soon. Also for those of you who are interested, the song used in chapter one is "Hard Love" by Bob Franke, and the song used in this chapter is "Satellite" by Guster. They can both be found online. I highly recommend you listen to them to get a better 'feel' to this fic…


	3. Wild Horses

** Wild Horses**

"So how are things going with your mom?" Sam asked, his eyes averted from the computer screen. Instead, they were glued to his algebra assignment, where he'd doodled several cars around the work problems.  
"Fine," Mikaela replied, just as absent-mindedly. "Hey, Sam?"  
"Mm?" He took his highlighter and colored in one of the sketches.  
"Whatever happened to that old Camaro you had?" his girlfriend asked. "You know, the one you gave me a ride home in?"  
Sam stopped coloring and wriggled around to get a better view of the screen. "What Camaro?"  
" I was reading through my old diary," she explained. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I have no recollection of meeting you-and I'm sorry! I know that sounds horrible." She laughed a little. "But anyway, let me read you a piece."  
She disappeared briefly and returned, flipping through an old worn spiral. "Okay, listen. This is one of my first entries about you.  
'Oh my gosh. That weird whutwitty kid from school gave me a ride home in his old, piece-of-crap camaro. It's this ugly, mustard-yellow color and smells like sweat socks.' "  
Sam smiled a little, but something was there besides the funny description. He stared back down at his doodles. "Is that all you wrote? About the car, I mean?"  
"It gets weirder." Mikaela flipped through some more pages. "I don't know, I might have been sick in the head or something."  
"You'd be surprised," Sam told her. "Go ahead."  
" 'Tonight was the craziest night of my life. I'm still a little beat up, but I feel fantastic. They say you only have one chance to do something really great in your life, and I think I took that chance when I got in the car. I never left Sam, I never left Bumblebee, and I'd like to think I helped save the world.' "  
"Bumblebee…" the words rolled off of Sam's tongue like he said it everyday. "Bumblebee…"  
"Yah, who the hell is Bumblebee?" Mikaela asked. "Sam, something is wrong with us! Either we're both simultaneously losing our minds or something is…" she turned her head. "Yah, Dad!"  
"What's wrong?" her boyfriend asked.  
"I have to go," Mikaela sighed. "Dad needs the computer."  
"Wait!" Sam sat up. "So what do you think about the Camaro/Bumblebee issue? What do you think it means?"  
"What do _you_ think it means?" she asked. "I mean, what proof do we have of any of this stuff?"  
The boy shifted around uncomfortably. Even with the topic out for discussion, he felt just a little insane retelling his encounter with the death droids in the woods. Not to mention he'd have to explain _why_ he'd gone into the woods.  
"I guess we don't…" he lied, his eyes drifting away. "G'night, Babe."  
"Kiss." Mikaela kissed the screen. "Good night."  
After they disconnected the chat window, Sam closed his laptop and hopped off of his bed. He threw on some jeans and sneakers, and picked up the tattered sweatshirt hanging from his bed post. Hesitantly, he slipped it on over his Tshirt and headed out the door.  
It was cool outside, and Sam rubbed his hands up and down for warmth. He still wasn't really used to the New England climate. He looked around the dormitory courtyard, and spotted nobody. Picking up his pace, he headed for the woods, where he knew there was a small cliff overlooking the rest of the lake where he'd had his terrifying encounter.  
The sky was empty of stars, the clouds hiding them well. Sam stared up as he half walked, half jogged, trying to see the tiny balls of light behind the purple shrouds. As he did so, he tripped over a raised root and lost his footing. He plummeted forward, and a few twigs caught his exposed hands and face. He wiped his dirty palm against his jeans and then gingerly placed them to his face to examine the damage. He could feel a nasty scratch going down his right cheek, but nothing too bad.  
He dusted himself off and continued on. He didn't remember the woods being so deep, but he'd also been with some friends the last time, so it probably just seemed bigger and emptier. Thunder sounded, followed by several gusts of wind, and Sam paused, debating on whether to turn back or not. It was hard to tell by the dark when it would actually rain, but he could still see stars trying to peek through the thin clouds so he figured he had enough time.  
It became clear how much time that was when the first raindrop hit his head, followed by several more. It began to pour and Sam cursed loudly, turning in circles trying to figure out which way he'd even come from. He pitifully covered his head with his hands, and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up. The earth became soft and muddy, so running was out of the question.  
"Shit!" he cursed softly, trudging through the mud. "Shit, shit, shit!"  
The wind picked up, and thin branches from the trees began to snap and fly in his direction. He ignored them, and continuously wiped rain from his face. He tried to jog a little, but fell once more, collecting leaves and dirt all over himself. As he stood up, he heard honking in the distance and followed the sound with his eyes. Through a cluster of trees, he could see lights, and hesitated. The honking became more persistent and an engine revved. It sounded all too familiar.  
"No." Sam shook his head and turned heel. "Oh, hell no."  
He walked briskly, knowing running was out of the question. He could feel his hands going numb, and his nose burned from the cold. He continued to ignore the honking, walking as fast as he could. He jumped a little when he heard wood snapping, and turned around. His eyes widened. The car had evolved back into the creature he'd started to convince himself was a bad dream. It moved carefully between the trees, as if trying not to break them, its steps almost…_gentle._  
"NO!" Sam tried to keep his balance as he held out his arms and walked backwards. "You stay away from me! STAY AWAY!" He fell down, but quickly regained his footing. "BACK OFF!"  
The creature did not back off, but paused briefly. A few distorted sounds came from it, and then music.

_Wild horses_

_  
Couldn't drag me away_

_  
Wild, wild horses_

_  
Couldn't drag me away_

_  
_Sam's brows furrowed. The creature made a few more scratchy noises, and the volume of the music lowered, only playing faintly. It blinked two large blue eyes and crouched down. Sam took another step backwards. "What do you want from me?"  
"It's okay," a female voice spoke through it's chest. It was followed up by thick, accented male voice. "I would never hurt you."  
"You helped me a few days ago," Sam pointed out, remaining where he was. "Why?"  
The song played again:

_You know I can't let you slide through my hands_

_  
Wild horses, couldn't drag me away_

_  
Wild, wild horses_

_  
Couldn't drag me away_

_  
_"You can't speak?" Sam took one small step forward. "You talk through the radio?"  
The robot nodded. It sat down, the best a robot can, and played a variety of audio clips at lightning speed, each at a different volume, some loud enough to rattle the trees. The boy smiled just a little.  
"You're not an evil machine, are you?" he took another step forward.  
The creature extended its arm and Sam quickly backed up. He wasn't fast enough, and the yellow monster took hold of him, taking a finger and bringing it close to his head. Sam struggled, and closed his eyes. He felt the finger gingerly trace the gash on his cheek, and he slowly opened his eyes again. The finger continued to gently glide up and down the wound. The robot cocked its head, almost making a sad expression, and it pulled Sam closer.  
"NO!" Sam struggled and kicked his feet as he was lifted from the ground. "What are you-"  
The robot held him close to its chest, and though it was hard like metal, it was warm, and a low humming sound emitted from that warmth, almost like a heartbeat. The song was still playing, Sam realized, being so close from where the noises were coming from.  
They stayed like that for several minutes, and then something shook the skies. The robot carefully set Sam back to the ground, fingering the injury one more time. It then returned to its automobile form, and sped away. Sam watched it go, and still looking into the direction it had disappeared, raised his hand and placed his hand to his cheek, where he still felt warmth.  
------------------------

"Bumblee," Optimus said, almost sadly. They were altogether at the base, which now seem cramped since they were meant to be hidden. "You cannot let Sam know. You cannot expose yourself."  
"You didn't expose yourself, did you?" Ironhide quizzed.  
"No sir," a childlike voice emitted from his radio. "I've been a good boy, yes sir!"  
The autobots began discuss military matters, and Bumblebee snuck away, unnoticed. He moved to an end of the base with a window, his favorite part of the tiny hanger. Staring into the sky, he softly began to play the song once again, soothing himself.

_I know I've dreamed you a sin and a lie_

_  
I have my freedom but I don't have much time_

_  
Faith has been broken, tears must be cried_

_  
Let's do some living after we die_

_  
Wild horses, couldn't drag me away_

_  
Wild, wild horses_

_  
couldn't drag me away_

To Be Continued….

**Author's note:** Merry Christmas, everybody! My goal for the New Year is to work on this fic exclusively (as much as I can). Please let me know what you think in the review. Also, I didn't listen to the Stone's version of this song for inspiration. Instead, I listened to Elisa's cover. Look her up on Youtube. It's a gorgeous cover!


End file.
